TORONTO, July 7, 2026 /CNW/ - The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) has appointed three new members to its Investor Advisory Panel (IAP): Brett Kimak, Rob Wells, and Christine Zalzal. CIRO's Investor Advisory Panel plays an important role in shaping regulatory policy, annual priorities, strategic plans, and other key initiatives. Its mandate is to help CIRO fulfill its public interest responsibilities by bringing forward issues that matter to investors and ensuring their perspectives are considered in CIRO's work.

"The investment industry continues to evolve," said Alexandra Williams, Senior Vice-President, Strategy, Innovation, and Stakeholder Protection at CIRO. "CIRO's IAP is committed to ensuring we keep pace with that change. Our focus is on strengthening the investor voice as new products, services and channels emerge—from advice and Order-Execution-Only platforms to crypto assets and innovative models like prediction markets. Our role is to help ensure Canadian investors have the information to stay informed in a rapidly shifting landscape."

"From cryptocurrency to prediction markets to AI and emerging technology, the issues facing Canadian investors today are complex," said Dorothy Sanford, Chair of the Investor Advisory Panel at CIRO. "With the addition of these new members, CIRO is in a strong position to support investors' evolving needs."

Biographies of the new members are as follows:

Brett Kimak

Brett Kimak is an executive leader with nearly 30 years of experience in securities regulation, governance, risk and compliance across Canadian financial services.  Through this experience, Mr. Kimak has deep and direct experience with investors and the issues that matter most to them. He has dealt directly with clients on complaint handling and has expertise on the regulatory regime that applies to those complaints. Earlier in his career, Mr. Kimak worked in enforcement with a securities regulator, providing direct exposure to investor protection and market conduct matters. He has held senior leadership roles within regulated investment management and wealth management organizations, including Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and President & Ultimate Designated Person (UDP). Mr. Kimak has provided comments to securities regulators on policy and other initiatives and has advised financial institutions through consulting roles focused on financial services regulation, compliance program enhancement, governance, operational risk, and regulatory change initiatives. He has also served on several industry boards, councils, and advisory committees, including leadership roles supporting regulatory and industry engagement.

Mr. Kimak holds a Master of Business Administration degree, is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder, and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Rob Wells

Rob Wells is a senior investment industry professional with nearly four decades of experience in the Canadian capital markets as a registered investment advisor, branch manager and senior vice-president at a major Canadian financial institution. Throughout his career, Mr. Wells worked directly with a diverse array of investors and has extensive experience operating within Canada's regulated securities environment, including specialized knowledge of advisor and dealer complaint handling, regulatory compliance and investor advisory services.  Mr. Wells has worked with investors to improve their financial literacy and has advocated for improved investment and tax reporting for retail investors to ensure they are better informed about the financial and wealth management decisions they make. Mr. Wells holds numerous industry credentials and courses and has board experience.

Christine Zalzal

Christine Zalzal is an award-winning financial services executive and experienced board director with more than 35 years of leadership in banking, wealth management, and insurance. Most recently, she served as head of one of Canada's order-execution-only (OEO) investment brokerage firms, leading digital transformation, and enhanced client experience and complaint handling initiatives. She spearheaded market-leading innovations that personalized the investor experience, leveraging AI to provide investors with relevant, informative and actionable insights at greater speed. Ms. Zalzal brings a unique perspective to the IAP as someone who has heard the voice of the OEO investor and can speak to the challenges and experiences this growing client segment encounters.

Christine has built a distinguished career driving strategic change, transformation and operational excellence across the financial services industry and currently serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards, along with her community-involvement initiatives. She is widely recognized for her investor-focused leadership and expertise in governance, and risk management.

All members of the IAP are appointed for a minimum of two years. For more information, including biographies of all members, visit: Investor Advisory Panel (IAP).

About CIRO

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) is the pan-Canadian self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers, mutual fund dealers and trading activity on Canada's debt and equity marketplaces. CIRO is committed to the protection of investors, providing efficient and consistent regulation, and building Canadians' trust in financial regulation and the people managing their investments. For more information, visit www.ciro.ca.

SOURCE Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO)